2WaystoDrawCelticKnotwork

Asidebysidetutorialcomparingtwodifferentmethods!
I'vebeendrawingCelticKnotworkforyearsandIhavedevelopedseveraltechniquesandmyownmethods.Thesetutorials demonstratethosemethods.Thefirst(leftsideofthepage)issimilarinsomewaystothemethodsofGeorgeBain,hisson IainBainandmanyoftheartiststhatprecededthem.Thebiggestdifferencebetweenmymethodandthetraditional methodsisthatIusecomputergraphicsprograms,buttheinstructionsbelowareapplicabletopencilandpaperaswell.The secondmethodillustratedhereusestheCelticKnotFont.Thisfontisbasedonthesameformsthatcanbecreatedusing thefirstmethod,buttheknotworkhasbeencutapartintoseparatereusablepieces.Ithenconvertedthosepiecesinto charactersinafont.Thepiecesarelinkedtokeysonyourcomputerkeyboard,givingyoutheabilitytoTYPEKNOTS! IrealizethatsomefolksmayconsiderthiscomparisonofmethodstobebiasedbecauseIprofitfromthesalesofthefont thatisnecessaryforthesecondmethod.WELLTHEYWOULDBERIGHT!IAMBIASED!EventhoughIcreatedit,Istilluseitalotandconsiderit tobeaveryvaluabletool.ItmakesthejobofcreatingCelticknotworkMUCHeasier,allowsformoreflexibilityinthepatterns,andsize,andthe coolestthingaboutitisthattheCelticKnotfontoftensurprisesmebymakingpatternsthatIneverwouldhavethoughtofusingtraditionalmethods. ItisactuallylotsofFUN! ThefirstmethodillustratedhereisthemethodthatIusedtocreatethefont.Istillusethismethod,asthefontcannotcreateeveryknotimaginable(I amworkingonthat!).ButevenwhenIamdesigningacustomhanddrawnknotforaprojectIstillstartwiththeCelticKnotfonttogetanideaofwhat sortofpatternIwantinthefinishedknotworkandthenretraceorstylizewhateverIcreatedwiththefont.Pleasereadthistutorialwithanopenmind andpayattentiontohowmuchtimeandeffortthisfontcansave.Everyone'stimehasSOMEvalue,andifyoucansaveacoupleofhoursdesigning onepieceofknotworkthentheCelticKnotfontwillsaveyoumoneyeverytimeyouuseit..

Theoldmethod
Theseinstructionscanbefollowedwithpencilandpaperorusingany computerbaseddrawingordraftingprogram.IhaveusedCorelDraw, AdobeIllustrator,andAutoDeskAutoCadforvariousprojects,butmy favoriteisCorelDraw.InthetutorialbelowIshowthemethodthatIusein CorelDrawhowever,Ihavedeliberatelyleftoutprogramspecific instructions.Ididthistomaketheinstructionsmorebroadlyapplicableto workwithasmanydrawingandCADprogramsaspossible. Thismethod,likemost,beginswithdrawingthegrid.Ofcourseyoucould usegraphpaper,butthatwouldlimitthesizeofyourfinishedpatternto thesizesofgraphpaperthatyouhappentohaveavailable.Whatsize shouldyoumakethegrid?Wellthatdependsonwhatsizeyouwantyour finalpatterntobe.Ifyouaremakingapatternforleatherwork,for instance,youwouldwanttodrawthepatterntobethesizeofthefinal projectsaywalletsize.Howmanysquaresshouldyoumake?Thatisa tougherquestion.Thenumberofsquaresdependsonthepatternthat youaregoingtomake.Theproblemisthatweoftendon'tknowwhatsort ofpatternwewantatthisstage.Sowhatdowedo?Guess?Pickouta patternthatsomeoneelsecreatedandcopyit?Wejusthavetopicka numberofsquaresthatfitsintoourfinalsizeandforgeaheadhopingthat theresultingpatternwilllookgoodandthatwearen'twastingourefforts. Thisgridis4squarestalland6squareswide.

TheCelticKnotFontMethod
ThistutorialshowshowtocreateCelticknotworkbyarevolutionarynew method.Thesecretisanornamentalfont!Itdoesnotmakeletterslikean ordinaryfontitmakespiecesofCelticknotwork.Thebasicpiecesthat youneedtocreateaCelticknotarelocatedconvenientlyinonecornerof youcomputerkeyboard:

Thecornersofthissquareofkeys(OK,it'saparallelogram)makethe cornersofaknot.Thesidesofthissquaremakethesidesofaknot,and themiddlemakesamiddlepiece.Likethis:

WecanmaketheTONSofknotsusingjustthose9keys(theCelticKnot fonthasalmost200differentpieces).Justbytypingmoreofthesideand middlepieces Thesecondstepistodrawinthediagonals.Theselineswillbethepath followedbymostoftheknotwork.Thediagonallinesmustbedrawn startingfromthemiddleofthesidesofthegridsquares.Inotherwords, don'tdrawthediagonalsfromthepointsofthegridsquaresoryou'llend upwithlooseendsstickingoutatallfourcorners.

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wecanmakethis:

Nextdrawintheconnectingcurvesthatwillbecometheedgesofthe knotwork.Imakethesecurvestangenttothediagonals.Inotherwords theyconnectsmoothlytothediagonallines. Thereisnolayoutphase,nogridsordiagonalstodrawjusttypethose keysandyouhavethisartwork!Manypeoplestophereandthinkthat theyarefinished.Thisreallyisn'tCelticknotworkyet.Readmyrambling speechintheparalleltutorialforsomeofmyphilosophyaboutthebreaks inknotwork.Withoutthebreaksthisisn'tknotworkyet.Solet'saddsome breaks,butfirst,scrolldownbecausewearealreadywayaheadofthe folksintheparalleltutorial. Thisisthestepthatmostpeoplehavethemosttroublewith:deciding whereto"BreaktheGrid".ThethingthatmakesCelticknotworkunique fromtheplaiting(orweaving)seeninmanyotherculturesisthe introductionof"BREAKS"intotheweave.I'vealwaysfoundittoberather fascinating:thatCelticknotworkisdefinedmorebywherethepattern ISN'TthanwherethepatternIS.Itisadesignformmadeofempty spaceswithinanotherwisesolidobject. So,wheredoweputthesespacestomakeanaestheticallypleasing design?Apersonwithextraordinaryvisualizationskillscouldprobably imaginewhataknotwilllooklike,butfortheaveragepersonitisa"tryit andsee"sortofoperation.Herewefindthebiggestsingleproblemwith ALLofthetraditionalCelticknotworkconstructionmethods:youhaveto knowwhatyourknotisgoingtolooklikeBEFOREyoudesignit! HereishowIdoit::ICHEAT!IusetheCelticKnotFontfeaturedinthe paralleltutorialtotryoutdesigns.Iputtogetherabunchofpiecesand experimentwiththem'tilIfindapatternthatlookscool!Ijustpluginnew pieces,deletethecombinationsthatIdon'tlikeandtrysomemore combinationsofparts.You,however,don'thavetheCelticKnotFont (yet!)soyouhave2choices: 1).CopywhatIdidhere(orsomeoneelse'sdesignsfromabook). Or 2).Makesomebreaksbytrialanderrorandseewhathappens.Ifyou areluckyitwilllookgood.Ifyouaren'tluckyyouwillwasteabunchof Keepgoing....

timedrawinganuglyknotandhavetoeraseitallandstartover,orget disgustedandquit(oryoucouldgohereandordertheFont).See,I warnedyouthatIwasbiased.... Butbacktothetutorial.TheredlinesonourgridshowwhereIamgoing tomakemybreaks.

Keepgoing....

Followthediagonalsuntilyoucometoaredline.Whenyougettoared line,addacurvesothatyourlinecontinuesintotheotherlinethatis brokenatthesameplace.Addingthesecurvescompletesthepathof theknotwork.Darkenthislinesothatwecanseethepathclearlyforthe nextstep.

Yeswereallyarethatfaraheadofthem....

OK,nowthatyouspentallofthattimedrawingthegrid,thediagonals OK,weneedtofigureoutwheretoputthebreaks.Ifyouhavereadthe andthebreaks,eraseallofitexcepttheknotworkpaththatwedarkened othersideyoualreadyknowthatIusedtheCelticKnotFonttodesignthe inthelaststep.Hereiswhatitshouldlooklike. knotworkusedforthesetutorials.HowdidIdothat?AfterImadethe patternabove,Isimplysubstitutedpiecestoseewhatlookedgood.I startedinthemiddleofthetoprowandreplaced2ofthe"w"pieceswith "j"and"k"

Howdidknowwherethosepiecesfit?Well,asidefromthefactthatI madethisthingandIknowhowALLofthepiecesfit,Icouldlookatthe keyboardchartthatisincludedwitheverycopyoftheCelticKnotfont.

Forthisstepacomputergraphicsprogramcomesinrealhandy.We needtomakeanewoutlineallaroundtheentireknotworkpath.InCorel Drawyoucancombineallofthelinesintooneobjectandusethecontour tooltomakealineallaroundtheknotworkpath.InAutoCadyoucanuse theoffsetfunctiontomakealinethatisparallelto(butoffsetfrom)your existinglines.IfyouuseAdobeillustratoryoucancreateacustompen typewith2linesandstroketheknotworkpathwithyournewpen.Ifyou aredoingthiswithapencilyou'llhavetoeyeballit.Drawalinealltheway aroundtheknotworkpathandinsideallofthelittleholesinthepattern. Thenewlineshouldbeoffsetfromtheoriginalpathby1/2ofthedesired widthofthefinishedknotworkcord. Clickonthisimagetoseealargerversion.

Noticehowsimilarpartsaregroupedtogether?Let'stakeacloserlook.

Whenyouaredonewithdoublingtheline,erasetheoriginalknotwork pathsothatallthatisleftistheoutline. Seehowthe"j"and"k"fittogethertocreatehorizontallines?Wecan usethemtoreplacethetwomiddlepiecesonthetoprow.Itrieditandit lookedgood,soIdidthesamethingonthebottomusingthe"m"and"," keys.Similarly,the"7"and"u"andthe"8"and"i"worktogethertoform verticallines.IusedthemtoformthesideswhereIwantedstraightlines intheknotwork.Noticethattheseareallpiecesthatworkwellonedges. Next,Idecidedtotryaddingsomebreaksinthemiddle,soItriedthe"5" and"t"Likethis:

We'realmostthere!Hangintherejustalittlewhilelongerandwewill haveaknot!Anddon'tpayanyattentiontothosesmugfolksthatstarted theparalleltutorialatthesametimethatyoustartedthisoneandfinished makingthesameknotoveranhourago.Youcanbeproudthatyoudidit theHARDWAY! Sotomakebreaks,youjustreplace"UnbrokenPieces"withthe Allthatisleftistofigureoutthe"Over/UnderThing".Youcanstart equivalent"BrokenPieces".HerearethepiecesthatIneedtoreplace anywhereonthepathoftheknotandmake2littlelinesateach (showningray)togetthesamedesignasshownintheparalleltutorial. intersection.Besuretoalternateonewayandthentheother,overand under,untilalloftheintersectionsaredoneoruntilyourunintoanarea whereyoufindthatyouwentOVEROVER,orUNDERUNDER.Inwhich caseyoueraselinesuntilyou'veeliminatedtheonesthatarewrongand doitover.LookatthenextillustrationandyoucanseewhatImean.Of courseifyouhadusedtheCelticKnotFontyouwouldn'thavetoworry aboutthe"Over/UnderThing"becausethathasbeendoneforyou already.

AfterwemakethosesubstitutionsWEAREDONE!Wecansithere smugly,knowingthatwearefinishedwhilethosefolksdoingtheother tutorialarestilllayingouttheirgrid!Hereiswhatourcompletedknot lookslike:

So,thereyouhaveit,acompletedCelticknot!Itlooksprettygood.Of courseI'maprofessionalgraphicartistwhohasdonethissortofthingfor alivingforoveradecade,soyourresultsmayvary.BecauseIamfairly proficientatthis,itonlytookmeabout2hourstomakethisknotforthis tutorial.

OK,IadmitthatIhaveanedge,bybeingextremelyfamiliarwiththefont butIcangothroughALLofthesestepsinunder2MINUTESwithout

Nowthatyouhavereadthistutorial,readthenextonetotherighttolearn anothermethod.

hardlytrying!REALLY!Ofcourseyourresultsmayvary!:)Butevenifyou arereallyslow,youcandesignaCelticknotinunder10MINUTES insteadofthe2ormoreHOURSthatwerenecessaryfortheoldmethod. Thatgivesyou1hourand50minutesmoretimetoworkontheproject thatyouwantedthisknotworkfor!Furthermore,yourknotswilllookjust asgoodastheseskillandartisticabilityarenolongeranissue!Andif youareanartist,you'llhavealotmoretimeforthereallyfunpart, embellishingyourknotsinamazingwaysnowthattheprepworkisdone! ClickheretogetyourCelticKnotFont!

Ifyouusedthemethodontheleftandyouwanttochangeyourknotwork,thenyouwillhavetostartover.Ifyouusedthe CelticKnotFontmethodyoucanmodifywhatyouhave. Youcanchangethesizeofyourknotworkbyjustchangingthepointsizeofthefont:

Youcancopyasectionandpasteitoverandovertomakealonglineofknotwork:

Youcanreusesectionsanddeletesections. Youcanexperimentandplaywiththeknots,creatingendlessvariationsonatheme:

YoucanusethefontDIRECTLYinPhotoshopandutilizeallsortsofspectaculareffects:

Ofcourseyoucoulddothatwithahanddrawnknot,butbythetimeyouarefinisheddrawingtheknotworkyou'reexhausted, drainedandatyourwit'send!WiththeCelticKnotFontyouareinspiredandenergizedandreadytoDECORATETHE WORLDWITHCELTICKNOTWORK!

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